Walking Tacos feature all of your favorite taco ingredients and toppings in a personal-sized bag of chips. Quick and easy to prepare, this taco in a bag recipe is great for game day, camping, Taco Tuesday, and more!
These are super fun for a taco bar with friends and a pitcher of Mexican Horchata or strawberry margaritas.
Easy Taco in A Bag Recipe
How fun are these walking tacos?! It’s like taking taco salad to a whole new, portable level.
Walking Tacos are great when you want/need to walk and eat – perfect for game day at home, tailgating, camping, a taco bar, or just a fun Taco Tuesday so you aren’t tied to the dining room table. Basically, they’re perfect for all occasions.
What I really love about this taco in a bag recipe is that it’s budget-friendly and fun. It’s great for when you need to serve a crowd without breaking the bank and, trust me, these are loved by kids and adults too.
You can either assemble the bags with toppings and hand them out, or let each person build their own so they get exactly what they want. The bonus? Clean up is a breeze! (Especially if you serve these with disposable forks, which I highly recommend.)
What Are Walking Tacos?
A walking taco is a taco assembled right in a personal-sized chip bag, usually Doritos or Fritos. The chips replace the need for a taco shell and the chip bag works as the plate/bowl, allowing you to walk and eat at the same time.
They’ve become very popular at high school football game concession stands and are ideal for any occasion where you’re serving a lot of people who may not have a chance to sit – or if you just need something quick, easy, and budget friendly for a crowd with minimal clean up!
Ingredients Needed
This easy taco recipe is made with just 5 main ingredients, plus any toppings you desire.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Ground beef – I always use lean ground beef for my taco recipes.
- Taco seasoning – Grab a packet at the store or try my homemade taco seasoning.
- Water – For the beef mixture.
- ROTEL – Do not drain it, as you’ll want the juice for extra flavor. Feel free to use regular, mild, spicy, as desired.
- Chips – You’ll want individual-sized bags of Doritos or similar.
- Toppings – The fun part about tacos in a bag is that you can add whatever taco toppings you’d like!
What Chips Are Best For Walking Tacos?
We love them with Doritos – Cool Ranch or Nacho Cheese. But they’re so versatile using bags of Fritos Corn Chips or even Cheetos. Basically, any crunchy chips you can find in the personal-sized bags are fair game.
How to Make Walking Tacos
Making these walking taco Doritos bags is so easy – and since you can make a large amount with minimal effort, this is the perfect taco recipe for a crowd.
(Don’t miss the detailed printable recipe card below.)
- Prepare the taco meat. Brown the beef, breaking it up into crumbles. Drain the grease then stir in the taco seasoning, water, and ROTEL (with its juices). Stir and cook until thickened and combined.
- Prepare the chip bags. Carefully cut across the top seam of the chip bags. Gently crush the chips until slightly broken. Fold over the top opening to form a 1/2″ collar, to make them a bit sturdier.
- Assemble the walking tacos. Add 1/4 cup of taco meat to each bag, then add your favorite toppings. Toss with a fork right before eating.
Tips & Variations
Here are a few tips and variations for the best walking taco chip bags.
- Feel free to switch up the meat. You can use ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
- Make the taco meat in advance. If you’re serving these up for a party, you can prepare the taco meat in advance, you’ll just need to warm it up before serving.
- Assemble just before serving. I recommend adding the meat and toppings to the chip bag just before serving, as the juices from the meat will eventually make the chips soggy.
- Use a baking dish for easy assembly and serving. These are easier to build if you have a tray or baking dish with higher sides so you can stand them up while filling. It’s also a great way to serve them to a group!
Walking Taco Bar Topping Ideas
Whenever I make tacos in a bag, I love to set up a little “walking taco bar”, where everyone can assemble their own. This is perfect for parties and gatherings, as it cuts down on the prep work I need to do and everyone gets exactly what they want.
I’ll place the chip bags in a casserole dish to keep them standing. Then I put out bowls of the prepared taco meat and different toppings and let everyone build their own. The toppings I usually include are:
- Shredded romaine lettuce
- Shredded Mexican cheese
- Mexican rice
- Sour cream
- Salsa (sometimes a few different options, like restaurant style salsa, black bean and corn salsa, and salsa verde)
- Pico de gallo
- Cherry tomatoes (quartered)
- Candied Jalapeños
- Avocado cubes or guacamole
- White queso
Can These Be Prepared In Advance?
As I mentioned above, I don’t recommend assembling your walking taco chip bags in advance. However, you can definitely get a lot of the prep work done ahead of time.
You can prepare the taco meat up to a day in advance, you’ll just need to reheat it before serving.
Additionally, many of the toppings can be prepared in advance as well – shred the lettuce, quarter the tomatoes, make any homemade salsas, etc. The one thing I don’t recommend doing is making guacamole or dicing the avocado in advance, as it will brown quickly.
More Fun Taco Ideas:
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Walking Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 ounce taco seasoning packet
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 can ROTEL , undrained
- 6 individual chip bags (1 ounce each) of Cool Ranch Doritos, Nacho Cheese Doritos, or Fritos Corn Chips (or a combination)
Toppings (per bag):
- 1/4 cup shredded romaine lettuce
- 2 tablespoons shredded Mexican cheese
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon salsa
- 1-2 cherry tomatoes , quartered
- A few small cubes of ripe avocado or 1 tablespoon guacamole
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef, breaking it up into crumbles until no pink remains. Drain off the grease. Stir in taco seasoning, water, and ROTEL with its juices until combined and thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Using scissors, carefully cut the top across the seam of the chip bags.
- While keeping Doritos inside the bag, gently crush until chips are slightly broken.
- Fold over the top opening of the bags to form a 1/2" collar (this will make the packet a little sturdier for eating out of.)
- Add a heaping 1/4 cup of taco meat to each bag.
- Layer the toppings directly into the bag of chips and toss right before eating. Serve with some disposable plastic forks.
